Old Saint Nicholas
by amgehron
Summary: After Don insists that Santa's not real, Mikey and his brothers go topside to prove him wrong


I wasn't sure what universe you wanted, you I did it for 2k12. Oddly I see Donnie more of the 'Santa's not real' type then Raph, at least for me.

"And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight: "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" Splinter voice echoed in the room as he finished reading from the worn, water-stained book in the dim light provided by the candle sitting on the ledge nearby.

"Boring!" The rat shot a glare to Raphael, who was laying on his carapace, looking out into the darkness. "I liked the story you read the other day better." The small turtle jumped to his feet and jabbed the air a few times. "The Holly and the Oak King in an epic battle for control!"

"You know it's only a story that they used to tell to explain the changing of the seasons." Came Donatello's reply from another area. He had been the first to brush off the stories as 'fantasy' and below his intellectual level. Raph just rolled his eyes.

"So? It's better than some dumb guy dressed in a red suit that gives out gifts!" He defended himself.

"Santa's not dumb!" Came the twin cry from both Leonardo and Michelangelo. The youngest still believed in Santa, while the older ones still went along with it for his sake.

"He always gives us something, even if we live in a sewer!" The youngest defended, blue eyes flashing.

"That's because he's-" Donatello was cut off by a glare from his father. He knew better than to argue _that_ look.

Leonardo looked at his younger brother, shaking his head. He knew that Donatello didn't like the idea of letting Mikey believe in Santa, and was being a bit of Scrooge about this particular year.

Master Splinter cut off any further conversation by standing up and receiving a box that rest nearby.

"Now, let us hang up the stockings before we go to bed." He said gently, allowing his sons to each receive their own stocking. All except for one.

"Donnie, you gotta get your stocking for Santa!" The orange turtle exclaimed, tugging on his older brother's arm. Donnie paused in his reading to glare at his brother.

"Will you leave me alone? I'm trying to learn how to set up electricity! I don't have time for fairy tales!" Mikey pouted.

"Santa's not a fairy tale!" He defended, stamping his foot. Donatello closed the book with a loud _bang_.

"When will you grow up? Santa's not real. Never has been! There is no possible way that one man can cover the entire world in one night with today technology, let alone for hundreds of years!" He yelled, his brown eyes dark.

"He doesn't need stupid technology! He's magic!" Michelangelo yelled back, tears in his eyes.

"THERE IS NO MAGIC! THERE IS NO SANTA!" Donatello turned to his older brothers, who looked on in shock. "Tell him! Tell him Santa's not real, that it's Master Splinter doing it!" Raph and Leo looked at each other.

"Don't be like that Donnie, or you're not going to get any presents." Leo scolded his younger brother. Raph glared at Don, green eyes icy, but before he could say anything, Master Splinter interrupted.

"I think it is time you all go to be. I will talk to Donatello." He led the other three into a separate room, and returned to talk to the purple turtle.

"Donatello, I am disappointed in you." The rat scolded softly. "You know that believing in Santa is something that bring your brother joy." Don just scowled.

"He's too old to believe in that stuff!" He protested, but Splinter raised a paw.

"Your brother is not old to believe in it." He stated. "And you will not ruin something as simple as this for him." His father's voice was firm in the matter. Donatello could only nod.

"Yes, _Sensei._ " He said, bowing low. Splinter smiled.

"Good. Now let's hang your stocking and get you to bed." He said with a finality that meant he was not to be questioned. Donatello followed him to the nest of blankets where his brothers lay, and he curled in his spot between Raph and Mikey. Their father kissed them all on the tops of their heads, and left them. Don yawned and snuggled deeper into the blankets. While Master Splinter tried to keep the lair as warm as he could, the December air still nipped at them. But with the blankets and his brothers by his side, he soon fell into a warm sleep.

Noises woke him later that night. Blinking through sleepy eyes, he could make out the short form of his brother dressing in the clothing they used when they went out for food.

"What are you doing?" He hissed to his younger brother, trying not to wake up the two older turtles.

"I'm gonna find Santa and prove you wrong." Came the stubborn reply. Mikey didn't even look at him as he turned to leave. Beside Don, Raph stirred, and sat up.

"You can't go find Santa, he's topside right now!" Raph whispered, untangling himself from the blankets.

"Then I'm going topside." Came the simple reply as Mikey turned to leave the room. Don heard Raph mutter a word that would have his mouth washed out with soap if Master Splinter heard it.

"Wait, you're not going alone!" He snapped as he got dressed. Don looked at him, stunned. Raph wanted to be part of this crazy scheme?

"You can't go!" Don winced at the volume of his voice, and turned to see if he had woken up Leo. The oldest snored away like nothing was happening. Pulling himself away from the warmth, he watched Mikey wait for Raph to get dressed.

"I'm going too." He snapped, grabbing the purple scarf from the hook.

"Go where." The three other turtles froze as they saw Leo sit up, taking in the scene in front of him.

"I'm going to find Santa and prove to him that Santa's real! Hurry up if you want to come!" Mikey said, as he turned to leave the room. Leo's eyes widened in panic.

"You can't go! What if you get caught! Mikey!" But the youngest ignored him as he moved quietly out of the room, Raph behind him. Leo looked over at Don, giving him a dirty look. "Look at what you did!" he hissed, blue eyes angry.

"Me? Mikey's the one who went off!" Don whispered back, trying not to wake Master Splinter. Leo shook his head and grabbed his own coat, putting it on.

"Come on, let's see if we can convince them to come back before Master Splinter finds out." He told Don, and led the way out. It didn't take them too long to catch up to the other guys, but Mikey refused to return, with ether bribes or threats.

"I'm gonna find Santa." He said stubbornly, his face set in a way that said he wasn't going to be shaken from his quest.

It wasn't long before the found the man cover that Splinter used to go topside, and with some effort, they managed to get the cover off. One by one they climbed out of the sewer into the alley.

All around them, fat white snowflakes fell from the sky. It was going to be a white Christmas. Just past the alley, in the streets, humans walked to and fro, making last minute gift stops, visiting families, attending church. All without knowing that they were currently being watched by four inquisitive young turtles, mutated by an act of one of their own.

"Who…" Raph was the first to speak, his face towards the sky, allowing the snowflakes to caress his scales.

"It's so pretty…" Leo said, low enough that his brother could barely hear him. Don nodded in agreement with him.

"The chances of New York having snow like this in December are pretty low." He stated. Beside him, Mikey grinned widely.

"It's perfect weather for Santa!" His blue eyes lit up in delight. Turning to the street, Mikey was about to bound off, before Raph grabbed him by the back of his jacket.

"We can't go into the streets Mikey!" He reminded the youngest. Mikey visibly deflated before Leo pointed to the rooftops.

"Besides, that's the best place we're going to see Santa, of course." Grin instantly back into place, Mikey followed his oldest brother up a fire escape, careful not to make a sound.

Once on the rooftop, the brothers all paused, eyes wide as they took their first look of the city. Snow continued to fall as lights of every color imaginable flashed everywhere. Blues, greens, reds and yellows shone off the snow that had accumulated.

"Come on, we can wait for Santa here!" Mikey said, dragging his brothers to a small building that was opened on one side.

"How do you know he wasn't here yet?" Donatello asked as the three settled into the shelter.

"The Air Force, duh." Came the reply. "I was listening to the radio before Master Splinter read to us. He said that the Air Force was tracking Santa and he would be here in New York around 2320."

"2320? That's not a time Mikey!" Raph snapped as he curled closer to Leo. He was the most sensitive to the cold out of the four.

"He means 1120 pm." Don interjected, before pulling a watch he had found on day from his pocket. Holding it up to the light and squinting slightly, he could make out the time.

"It's only 10." He reported, putting the watch away. "Do we really have to stay out here that long?"

"Yep. We're going to meet Santa. Mikey said firmly, before his face twisted into panic. "Oh no!" Leo shot up from where he was dozing off.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" He asked, voice frantic.

"We forgot to get him cookies!" Mikey squeaked. "We can't meet Santa without cookies!" Don sighed and leaned back against the wall.

"Where are we going to get cookies at this time of night?" He asked, trying not to roll his eyes. Mikey was quiet for a moment.

"I can go ask if someone has extras!" He said, before slipping out of the building. The other three scrambled out behind him.

"You can't just ask someone for cookies!" Raph said, green eyes panicked.

"Yes I can." Came the reply as the youngest swung himself down the fire escape. "I have before."

"Wait- you WHAT?!" Leo stopped dead for a moment. "You've done it before?"

"Yep." Mikey swung down about eleven floors before pausing at a window. "This exact building to. There was a really nice girl who helped me out." Before anyone could say anything, Mikey's hand shot out and rapped on a window. The other stood frozen one story above him, and after a few long seconds the window opened. A girl with dark brown hair stuck her head out.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked, smiling at the exuberant turtle.

"Could I get some cookies?" Mikey requested. "I want to meet Santa, but I can't meet him without cookies. I thought you might have some." She nodded.

"Yah, my mom made a whole bunch this afternoon. Let me go get some." She moved back into the window, but paused. "You want anything in particular?"

"Oh, the shaped ones! He'll love those!" Laughter came from inside the window.

"Okay, give me a second." The girl disappeared for a few minutes before returning with a paper plate of cookies. "Here you go, hope there are enough." Mikey gave her a big grin.

"These are perfect! Thank you!" He brushed his lips against her cheek and she giggled before saying goodnight closing the window. Carefully he climbed back up with his brothers and returned back to the shelter.

"What were you doing Mikey? You let a human see you!" Leo's eyes narrowed. "What if she tells her parents about you" Mikey set the plate on a cement block that sat in the building.

"Leah won't do that." He defended as he sat back down. "She doesn't know what I look like."

"She's blind?" Don asked as he settled down next to him. Mikey nodded.

"Yah. I met her when she got lost in the alley and helped her home." He said. Leo seemed to relax after that, and he and Raph curled next to the two younger ones and they all sat in silence, watching the snow fall.

They must have dozed off at some point, the next thing they knew, they heard what sounded like bells jingling. Don opened his eyes first, and could make out someone getting out of something, and something that looked like…

 _A Reindeer._

Don shot up, waking the other three. They all looked out to see a large man in red digging through a bag in the back of a sleigh, which was hitched to eight reindeer, who were pawning at the ground or shaking their heads.

The man popped out of view for a moment only to pop back in again. He repeated this several times before he reached in and pulled out four boxes, and began to walk towards them. Mikey's eye were huge as he approached the little shack.

" _Santa…"_ He whispered softly and reached for the cookies. As the man knelt down in the entrance of the building, he smiled at them.

"Shouldn't you all be at home sleeping?" He asked, looking from one to the next.

"We live in a sewer." Raph said, trying to glare at the Saint. He just chuckled.

"I know that Raphael. Just like I know that you..." He paused to hand a box that had holes in it and tied with a red bow to him "Want a friend." Raph opened it, his eyes wide and filled with tears as he pulled out a small tortoise, who blinked at him wearily.

Santa turned to Leo, handing him a box that was wrapped in a metallic blue paper.

"Just something I thought you might like." He said as Leo tore off the wrapping to reveal a VHS.

"Space Heroes." Leo said, reading the cover. He looked up. "But we don't have a TV…" A yellow package wrapped in a purple ribbon was handed to Donatello.

"And that's where this comes in." Don unwrapped to find a set of books on the basics of running electricity and motors.

"Wow…" Don whispered. It had been exactly what he had wanted. Then they all turned to Mikey. Santa went to hand him a box with large orange spots over it, but he shook his head.

"I got my gift." He said, a large smile on his face. "I got to meet you!" Santa just smiled.

"I think you'll like this too." He said, pressing into Mikey's hand. The box opened to reveal a stuffed bear- much like the one that he had lost in a move the month prior.

"Mr. Bear!" Mikey cried softly, hugging it close to him. He put it down, handing the plate of cookies to the generous man.

"I got these for you!" He said excitedly. "I had to borrow them, because we don't have any at home." Santa just rubbed the turtle's head fondly.

"It's the thought that counts, Michelangelo, and your friend was very good to have given you some." Mikey nodded.

"She's the best!" He replied. Donatello stared at him, unable to fully comprehend what was happening.

"So you're real?" He asked, his eyes turning back to the sleigh.

"I'm as real as you are, Donatello." The man in red said. "As long as people believe I exist, I will. You must remember, that just because you do not see it, it does not exist. You believe that you're are made up of tiny atoms, yes?" When Don nodded, he continued on. "But you cannot see them with the naked eye. Does that make them not exist?"

"No." Don replied, face twisted in thought. Santa had a point. He had full belief that aliens existed, by had never seen one. Why would this be different? A smile came to his face. "I get what you're saying, though." Santa smiled back.

"There we go." He turned back to Mikey, who began asking him a million questions, and patently answered them.

Meanwhile, Raph squirmed beside Leo, eyeing the reindeer. For all his rough exterior, he loved animals, with the expectation of bugs. The large man stood, and waved over to the sleigh.

"Would you like to see them?" He asked. "Don't run, Blitzen can be spooked easy."

The four young reptiles moved slowly to the animals, who all watched them, ears moving back and forth.

Raph went up to the closest one, and reached out to it. The reindeer lowered its head and nuzzled hi outstretched palm.

"He's so cool." He whispered, eyes wide in delight. Behind him, Santa laughed.

"Prancer would be a 'she', young Raphael. Males lose their antlers during this time of year, and I couldn't have reindeer without antlers, could I?" Raph just nodded, scratching her forehead. The others followed, all petting the reindeer.

"We gotta set out carrots for them next year!" Mikey whispered excitedly. Too soon, Santa clapped his hands together.

"Now I think I need to get you boys' home before your father gets worried." He announced, and next thing any of them knew, they were waking up in the nest.

 _It was just a dream._ Donatello thought to himself with a mental scold. Santa being real? There was no way.

"Dude, I just had the best dream!" Mikey said, sitting up. "And you all were in it!"

"Wait did you dream we met Santa?" Donnie asked, eye rides furrowed in confusion. Why would he dream the same thing as Mikey?

"I had that dream, too!" Chimed in Raphael and Leonardo at the same time. Don's eyes widened. There was no way that they all had the same dream. It wasn't possible. Any further thoughts where cut off by Master Splinter entering the room.

"It seems like you four had a visitor last night." The Rat informed them, moving out of the way to let four excited children run into the main room, where they stopped in shock.

Under the stocking that were stuffed with small toys and candy, sat four boxes exactly like the ones from the dream.


End file.
